Status:
Complete
Location:
Bangkok - Thailand
Region:
Asia
Total cost:
USD $0
Duration:
1 year 1 month
Start:
27 July 2008
End:
02 September 2009
Working Areas
Operation & Maintenance
Waste-water Collection & Treatment
Water Demand Management/Scarcity Planning
Organizations Involved
Wastewater Management Authority of Thailand — Lead Mentee
King County Wastewater Treatment Department — Lead Mentor
WaterLinks
Broker
USAID (Eco-Asia)
Broker Funder
SDGs
6.1Universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
Project description
The aim of this WOP is to strengthen the capacities of WMA to better manage the wastewater facilities
Project main objectives
to strengthen the capacities of WMA and select local government authorities (LGAs) to better manage and sustain wastewater treatment facilities.
Most significant results
Describe WOPs activities
July 2008
Wastewater operations experts from King County in Seattle, Washington visited the treatment plant in Krabi, Thailand on July 2-4, 2008, to help improve the effectiveness of the Wastewater Management Authority of Thailand's (WMA) operation and maintenance procedures. The experts conducted a thorough assessment of the conditions and operations at the Krabi plant, and began drafting a toolkit supporting development of an operations manual for the plant. King County is recognized as one of the most progressive counties in environmental operations in the U.S. The experiences gained from this twinning arrangement and the resulting toolkit will allow WMA to improve operations throughout their network of treatment plants.

July 2008
Funded by WMA, the WMA Board visited King County's Wastewater Treatment Division during July 28-29, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a one-year twinning partnership, discussed twinning activities. The WMA board also visited wastewater treatment plants to understand King County polices and practices in providing wastewater services. King County will develop and institutionalize a toolkit on wastewater management and operation and maintenance in Krabi, an ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City, and replicate lessons learned throughout Thailand.

February 2009
As part of their twinning partnership, on February 23-26, 2009 in Krabi, Thailand, two experts from King County in Washington State trained 45 managers and staff from Thailand’s Wastewater Management Authority (WMA) on sustainable operations of wastewater treatment facilities. The King County experts shared information on standard procedures and best practices for facility maintenance, operations, and health and safety, and tested the toolkit for improving operations of Krabi's treatment facility. By strengthening management of treatment facilities, WMA and local governments are working to improve water quality and public health throughout Thailand.

April 2009
From April 20-24, 2009, three senior managers from the Wastewater Management Authority visited counterparts in King County to learn best practices on water treatment facility management through site visits to three treatment plants. King County provided WMA managers with hands-on training, demonstration and exercises, and presentations on key priorities areas identified by WMA. Based on the success of USAID Environmental Cooperation-Asia (ECO-Asia)-facilitated twinning, both parties discussed a plan to leverage their own resources to transform their relationship into a long-term partnership.

June 2009
King County completes two toolkit that establish a framework for WMA to write its own manuals on facility assessment and plant operations and maintenance. The toolkits are written specifically for the wastewater treatment plant in Krabi, which use oxidation ponds, but can be modified to apply to any treatment facility in the country. Based on these toolkits, WMA will assemble a team that will write the full operations and maintenance manual for the Krabi facility.

September 2009
On September 2-3, 2009, Thailand’s Wastewater Management Authority (WMA) recognized the contributions of the best practices it had learned from twinning partnerships at its annual meeting in Krabi, Thailand. Practitioners from twinning partners in the U.S. and in Taiwan shared their experiences in wastewater management with WMA staff, and national and local officials. Partners from the U.S. and Taiwan also assessed and provided feedback on wastewater management for three municipalities in Thailand.